


Aere Perennius

by machokoolkat



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, But only for part of it, Canon Compliant, Case Fic, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Identity Reveal, Light Angst, One Shot, PJO AU, Reveal, Shane is a demigod, Sort Of, Supernatural Elements, higher rating just for the swearing and violence, the crossover that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23317945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machokoolkat/pseuds/machokoolkat
Summary: Shane has never really been what most people consider "normal". Whether that's because of his strange personality or the fact that he's also the son of a god is still up in the air. He knew taking a job at a company entirely based on social media would draw unwanted attention from monsters. What he didn't anticipate was potentially putting his best friend with an affinity for the supernatural in danger.Or: Shane is a demigod, Ryan doesn't know, and technology tends to be a beacon for monsters.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Comments: 14
Kudos: 157
Collections: Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural Beings





	Aere Perennius

**Author's Note:**

> Aere Perennius: More Lasting Than Bronze
> 
> You don't have to be super familiar with the Percy Jackson books to enjoy this, but there are references that you may get lost on!
> 
> I started writing this in June of 2019 before forgetting about it for nearly 8 months. What better to do than write fics in my boredom while self isolating? Happy 2020 hope you're all staying healthy. Don't forget to wash your hands!
> 
> Also I owe my life to my beta readers and really good friends [Kirazalea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirazalea/pseuds/Kirazalea) and [flannelfeelings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannelfeelings/pseuds/BergaraHoe) they're both incredible writers, I highly recommend looking at their fics if you want more unsolved content!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this self indulgent crossover.

A bead of sweat trickled down Shane’s forehead as he slinked through the backdoor of the Buzzfeed office building. It certainly wasn’t his favorite way of coming into work, but on days like these it was necessary. Shane swiped the sweat away from his eyes and straightened out his plaid button up shirt before continuing into the building. He winced as his arm brushed against the side of the doorway going into the main office space. He glanced down at the bruise that was beginning to form on his arm and sighed in annoyance. Tugging his previously rolled up sleeves down to his wrists, Shane drifted towards the desk space that he shared with Ryan. 

Shane slumped over into his chair and relaxed, the air of tension that had followed him since his encounter that morning finally freed itself in a peaceful exhale. Shane plucked a red pen out of his pocket and began twiddling with it before losing himself in thought.

Occurrences like what had happened on his way to work were becoming more and more frequent and it was beginning to put Shane on edge. An  _ empousa  _ had caught him off guard this time, and those fiery ladies were never fun to deal with. These women of myth could best be described as an abnormal cross between a vampire and a siren. They could lure just about anybody in with that charm-speak of theirs and Shane was not too fond of getting prompted into doing something against his will. Especially if it meant getting murdered and having the blood drained from his body. (That and surprise heroin, he doesn’t care what Ryan thinks. It  _ is _ a real fear.) Thankfully, Shane managed to  _ not _ get killed by the vampire girl with mismatched legs and sent her on her way to tartarus. 

Shane had been dealing with monsters similar to the  _ empousa _ for nearly as long as he could remember. He was only around eleven years old when a not so friendly cyclops found him headed to the nearby park after school. A satyr that had been searching Shane’s elementary school for kids like him found him just in the nick of time. Had the satyr been any later, Shane would’ve been cyclops food. After his harrowing rescue from the discombobulated satyr, Shane started on his painstaking journey from Chicago to Long Island, Manhattan where he would spend the majority of his teenage years. Camp Half-Blood. That fateful day had changed his life forever. It stole away his normalcy and replaced it with the uncanny world that came along with being a demigod. 

When he first arrived at camp, Shane was absolutely terrified. Everything that he believed in came crashing down around him and for once in his short life he genuinely didn’t know what to do. It took eleven year old Shane about a week to get anywhere near used to the idea of magic and monsters being real. The facts presented themselves in front of him and he couldn’t deny it, so he began to accept the world of Greek mythology as his new normal. 

His first day of camp was the most memorable. He remembered being stunned by how breathtaking the valley was. From the entrance to the camp on Half-Blood hill, the first thing his eyes wandered to was the four story farmhouse that had been painted sky blue. On top of the house rested a bronze weather vane in the shape of an eagle. Beyond the Big House lay the amphitheater and the array of twelve multicolored cabins in the formation of the Greek symbol of omega ( Ω ). There were other buildings and amenities scattered around the hills including what seemed to be a rock climbing wall. It was a sight that Shane would never forget. 

The rest of his first day went by in a blur. He was introduced to the Camp Director, Chiron, and watched a camp orientation video. The video was less than spectacular. Chiron, who was also a fucking  _ centaur _ , trotted next to Shane while giving him a quick tour of the camp. After he had been shown the archery range, the combat arena, and the pegasi stables, Chiron guided Shane to the armory. This was where Chiron had given him the weapon that had been by his side ever since. It was a three foot long celestial bronze  _ xiphos,  _ a double edged sword that was held in one hand. It was perfectly balanced for Shane, though somewhat large for his eleven year old body, but Chiron was certain that it was the one for him. As it turned out, Chiron was right. By the time he had grown into his lanky six foot four self, the sword was exactly the right size. 

Shane was then taken to cabin eleven, the cabin of Hermes, where he would be staying until his godly parent claimed him. He soon learned that being claimed didn’t happen as often as you’d expect. The Hermes cabin was a bit overcrowded with unclaimed demigods, children of Hermes, and children of the minor gods that didn’t have their own cabins. For a moment, Shane wondered which of his parents wasn’t actually his parent. Until the day he arrived at camp, he thought both of the adults he lived with were his parents. Thankfully he found the answer to that question fairly quickly. The one god who managed to stay on top of claiming his children, being the messenger god and all, happened to be his father. Hermes. So as luck would have it, Shane stayed in the Hermes cabin. 

From that day forward, most of his time spent at camp blended together. Shane trained with the other demigods during the summer months, then returned to his family in Chicago for the school year. In his years at Camp Half-Blood Shane found his way around the sword and became one of the best swordsmen in the Hermes cabin. He took on a quest or two after the first couple years, and eventually rose to the rank of Head Counselor. 

Before he knew it, he had graduated high school and was getting ready to find a life in the mortal world. Because of his heritage, Shane was able to live on his own without too much attention from monsters. Even so, he always carried his sword around with him. There’s always a chance that he could be attacked at any given moment, but that’s just how it was living as a demigod. Despite the strength of the magical veil that shields mortals from the knowledge of all things Greek mythology, Shane decided he didn’t really want to lug around a huge three foot long sword all the time. With the help of his friends from the Hephaestus cabin and a child of Hecate, Shane managed to disguise his sword as a typical red pen. With a click of the end of the pen it would be transformed back into his sword whenever he needed it.

Shane’s time away from camp after moving away continued on as normal. Well, as normal as it could be as a demigod. Shane went to college in his hometown of Chicago before eventually moving to Los Angeles, California. It was around then that he was presented with the opportunity to work at Buzzfeed, where he still worked to this day. The wide use of technology at Buzzfeed hindered Shane a bit, but he managed to push forward despite attracting more monsters than he would like to admit. While it was stressful, and physically painful sometimes, Shane dealt with it so he could continue his work at the job that he adored.

When Ryan invited Shane to join him on Unsolved after Brent retired from the show, Shane was absolutely ecstatic. He got to play the role of the skeptic on the show, which was somewhat ironic considering his background. Even with the knowledge that Greek mythological creatures  _ do  _ exist, Shane knew that most, if not all, of Ryan’s theories were complete horseshit. Which made it that much more fun for Shane. 

Out of nowhere, an eraser hit the side of Shane’s face and plucked him from the recesses of his memory back into reality. “You okay there big guy? You’ve been staring at that wall like it murdered your family or something.” 

Shane blinked in surprise for a moment before something of a smirk appeared on his face. “Maybe it did! You don’t know my traumatic backstory,” he quipped. 

Ryan rolled his eyes in return, his lips turning upward into a playful smile. “What more is there to know, Chicago boy?”

A glint of mischief shone on Shane’s face before he finally said, “Maybe you’ll find out some day.” An air of mystery blended in with his words. 

Ryan raised an eyebrow in response before chuckling out, “Yeah, alright dude,” and returned his focus to his laptop.

Shane let out a small sigh. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to tell Ryan the truth of what his life  _ actually  _ entailed on a daily basis. How would he even start that conversation?  _ “Hey Ryan, you know how I’ve been telling you I don’t believe in anything supernatural? Well truth is my whole life revolves around mythological beings and I’ve practically been lying to you this entire time.”  _ Yeah, Shane was sure that would go over swimmingly. 

Even so, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would make things easier. Shane could make sure that Ryan didn’t actually get hurt by any monsters without having to sneak around while doing it. Well. That is if Ryan actually accepted it. The possibility that Ryan might be angry with him for keeping his best friend out of such a huge aspect of his life terrified him. On top of all that, Shane didn’t want Ryan to get hurt because of the things he deals with because of his godly parentage. So he kept it to himself.

***

Shane managed to make it to work unscathed for the time being, which was a wonderful alternative to what he had dealt with the day before. He approached Ryan at their shared desk space and propped himself up against the desk. 

“Mornin’ big guy,” Ryan said as Shane settled. “You getting ready for our investigation this week?” 

Shane sipped his coffee and let out a small hum before responding, “Yeah, some lake outside of Salt Lake City isn’t it? The good ‘ol bee state!” 

Ryan laughed in response, “I thought you didn’t like bees tough guy.”

“As if you’re any better!” Shane scoffed, “I think just about anyone would get jump scared by a bee in their face.” 

“Fair enough,” Ryan said with a small smile tugging his lips upward. “I still think you’re a coward though.” 

Shane feigned a look of hurt on his face, “Oh sure mister ‘oh no the house made a noise! I think I peed myself because of the wind!”

Ryan let out a full body laugh, “Shut up Shane!” 

The two men continued their friendly banter as they walked down the hallway towards the set for the postmortems. They had just posted their season finale of true crime that last Friday and were getting ready to film the Q and A. When they got to the door, Ryan fumbled with the key in the lock before his hand jolted downward. 

“Fucking shit!” He gasped in pain and quickly withdrew his hand. 

Shane stepped back in surprise, “Ryan are you okay? What was that?”

Ryan shook his hand off and wiped the small trace of blood onto his pant leg, “Yeah I’m fine, it’s just a scratch.” He knelt down to get a look at the lock where part of his keys had been left behind. “The door isn’t doing too well though.”

Shane stood confused for a moment before realizing that the key had somehow been bent sideways in the lock with the end of it broken off and laying on the ground. “Well that might hinder our schedule a bit,” he stated after getting a good look.

“Yeah no kidding.” Ryan stood back up after grabbing his remaining keys from the floor. “I’ll call someone to take a look at it so we can get it open.” Ryan reached for his phone in his pocket but Shane stopped him before he could do anything.

“Let me see if I can get it,” Shane said before crouching down next to the door. 

“I don’t think either of us can get that thing out of there dude.” Ryan chuckled, watching Shane fiddle with the lock. 

Shane knew he probably shouldn’t do this in front of Ryan, but he didn’t want to bother with waiting for someone else to get there. He faked jiggling the handle around for a moment before closing his eyes and sensing the lock. The fun thing about being a child of Hermes meant that Shane was  _ very  _ good at lock picking. It hardly took any effort. The key being broken in the lock took a bit more out of him, but he still managed to get the key pins in the lock to turn in his favor. Shane turned the handle and opened the door, gesturing for Ryan to walk inside with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Ryan stared dumbfounded at Shane before he finally laughed and started walking through the door, “You never cease to amaze me Madej.” 

“Why thank you,” Shane teased before following Ryan through the door. “You should probably still call someone to get the broken key out though.” 

Ryan wheezed out a laugh before nodding and pulling his phone back out.

Shane let a soft smile grace his lips.  _ Maybe Ryan finding out wouldn’t be too bad. _

***

Shane and Ryan sat side by side on the somewhat uncomfortable faux leather airport seats as they waited for their turn to board the plane. Shane twiddled with his pen anxiously, eyeing the aircraft that could be seen just outside the large windows. From the corner of his eye he could see Ryan glance down at the pen in his hands with a confused look resting on his face. Shane’s breath hitched and he quickly shoved the pen back into his pocket. That wasn’t good. Ryan was probably starting to wonder why he always had it with him. 

Before Ryan could say anything about it, the intercom spoke. “Boarding group three for flight to Salt Lake City.” The boys stood and grabbed their carry on bags. From the corner of Shane’s eye he caught a swift unusual movement dart past the window. Shane narrowed his eyes and placed his hand around his pen in his front pocket. Shane then followed Ryan and lined up with the rest of the group and boarded the plane after waiting in the line for a couple minutes. 

After they took their seats on the plane, Ryan leaned over to Shane. “Are you okay dude? I know you don’t like planes but you seem a bit jumpier than usual.” He whispered, the concern on his face clear as day. 

“I’m alright.” Shane lied. “I think breakfast is just sitting heavy on my stomach.” He didn’t want Ryan to worry, and it wasn’t like he could just tell him the truth. 

The concern remained on Ryan’s face but he must have acknowledged that Shane didn’t want to say anymore on the subject. “If you say so. Just let me know if you need anything.” Ryan turned away and pulled out his phone and headphones. Shane saw him open a downloaded movie. 

Shane let out a heavy breath and laid his head against the side of the plane. He gripped his hands tightly on the edge of his seat and watched as the plane began to move. Shane wasn’t particularly fond of airplanes. There was always a chance that Zeus would blast him out of the sky every time he entered the atmosphere. He was fairly sure he’d never done anything to deserve that, but Shane couldn’t help but let it get to him. Especially after the titan war. 

A year or two prior, Shane had traveled back to Manhattan to give his aid in the final battle of the Second Titan War. He told all of his mortal friends in Los Angeles that he was simply taking a trip to see his family in Chicago when in reality he was fighting for his life and the lives of everyone on the planet, really. Camp Half-Blood had been incredibly short on demigods in their ranks against the titans. So of course when Shane heard the news he fought with everything he had. 

The worst of it had been seeing his younger half brother, Luke. It was heart wrenching to see his blood in such distress, and taken over willingly by the king of the titans nonetheless. Shane had made his way through the array of monsters and helped the group of younger demigods, one of them being of the prophecy, to forge their way to Luke and end the war. It broke his heart to allow the four teens to follow Luke up to Mount Olympus on their own, but he knew they were the ones that had to finish it. Finding out about Luke’s fate afterward crushed him. 

That battle was one of the strongest reasons why he wanted to tell Ryan the truth about his demigod life. Shane had almost died. The thought of Ryan not knowing the real reason for his death, had he actually been killed, weighed heavy on Shane’s shoulders. Shane turned his head from staring out the plane window and placed his eyes on Ryan. Ryan had a goofy smile on his face as he watched the movie that was playing on his phone. 

All Ryan knew about his trip was he came home later than expected. Funnily enough, Ryan’s jokes in the postmortem about Shane not  _ actually  _ being stuck in the airport hadn’t been too far from the truth. Shane told Ryan that the airport was put on hold due to a snowstorm, which wasn’t  _ entirely  _ false. Shane had in fact been stuck, but it was actually due to his injuries and not his flight being delayed. 

Shane let his hand drift to the spot on the side of his body and his arm where the scars lay. He had been deeply wounded by the sword of one of the demigods that was fighting on the side of Kronos. Sometimes Shane could still feel phantom pains of the injury, but that was fairly normal for a wound made by celestial bronze. He allowed for the wound to heal a little bit before making his trip back home to LA. Thankfully, Ryan hadn’t noticed it when Shane returned. He wasn’t sure how he would have explained that one.

Shane was yanked from his thoughts when the aircraft hit a spot of turbulence. His eyes widened and he death gripped his seat. It was probably nothing, but Shane was sure that Zeus still held something against the children of Hermes after what Luke had done to rival the gods. Even if he was remembered as a hero. He saw the worried look on Ryan’s face from the corner of his eye, but Shane didn’t let go of the seat until the plane finally landed. 

As they stood waiting to leave the plane behind, Shane saw another quick movement similar to what he had seen back at the airport in the corner of his eye. He was already nervous from being on the plane and seeing something that he couldn’t explain only made him more anxious to get out of the closed space. 

Ryan trailed closely behind Shane as he quickly exited the aircraft. “Shane?” He said with concern woven into his voice. 

Shane didn’t stop or so much as look at Ryan

“Shane!” Ryan said louder and grabbed at Shane’s arm, stopping him from moving forward. 

Shane flinched back in surprise and jerked his arm away out of reflex.

Ryan took a step back, his eyes wide at Shane’s reaction. “S-sorry.” He said softly. 

The nerves that Shane had been feeling melted away in an instant. “Fuck,” he whispered, his body language softening. “No, I’m sorry Ryan.”

Ryan let out a small sigh of relief, “Are you okay?” He asked. 

“I-” Shane cut himself off, unsure how to answer. He thought for a moment before finally speaking, “I’ll be okay.”

Ryan nodded, accepting the response. “Good, okay good...” Ryan trailed off and stared at something behind Shane with a look of confusion plastered on his face. Shane turned to look but Ryan had blinked away the uncertainty before Shane could see what he had been looking at. 

“Let’s get going to the hotel big guy.” Ryan stated and gestured for Shane to lead the way. Shane dismissed the passing thought that Ryan had actually seen something and started the pair on the way out of the airport. 

***

By the time the team had arrived on location for filming, Shane had completely forgotten about his worries from the airport. He had a mischievous smile plastered on his face as he helped drag the equipment out from the car. They were out in the woods near a lake and campground deep in the Uintas. Shane loved when they filmed episodes in the woods. He always seemed to have the most fun with Ryan beneath the cover of the trees.

Normally for episodes in the woods, the boys filmed Ryan’s telling of the story beforehand. This time however, they elected to film it by the campsite to get the full “spooky camping effect” as Ryan described it. The pair set up their chairs and mics and were ready to start by the time the team finished setting the cameras and lights up. TJ gave them the okay to start and Ryan began telling the story behind the campground in his narration voice.

“This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we investigate the Moon Lake campgrounds in the Uinta Mountains of Utah as part of our ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?” 

Shane looked into the camera and shook his head while Ryan continued speaking. 

“This crescent shaped lake is one of the largest bodies of water in the Uintas. Its shores hold several cabins and a campsite with a rich history. In 1928, construction of what these men hoped would be a resort began. The building of cabins went well until the year 1934 when the main lodge burned to the ground. It’s said that someone accidentally put gasoline into a wood-burning stove instead of kerosene. Thankfully, no one was hurt.”

Shane interrupted with a full body laugh. “How does that even happen? Did they not know how to label things?” He questioned. “It’s like that guy that drank laundry detergent instead of alcohol!”

Ryan giggled in response, “I don’t know! Maybe he mixed up the two cans.” 

“That is very unfortunate. The man just wanted a nice oasis in the woods and he went and accidentally burned his house down.” Shane mockingly sympathized. 

“Maybe he wasn’t actually at home when it happened and one of his kids did it.” Ryan queried.

Shane wheezed for a moment before adding, “He just gets back home and sees the lodge on fire and goes, ‘goddammit Timmy what did I tell you about playing with the gasoline!’”

Ryan choked with laughter before continuing on with the story. 

“In 1935 a new lodge was built and it became a popular destination for tourists and locals to stop by. There was even a school house building in the area by the 1950s. In 2002 the resort was bought by majority shareholders Bill and Julie Reardon, who became Agents and Directors of the resort. Today, the campsite remains a hot spot for locals and tourists from the city to camp and enjoy some time with nature.”

“I bet you wish that’s all we were doing here.” Shane teased.

“I can always go for a good camping trip once in a while but I don’t think I’d ever stay anywhere that’s known to be haunted outside of for the sake of the show.” Ryan stated casually in response. 

“Having said that, let’s get into the ghost stories. One of the most common apparitions is that of a young girl. This girl is said to only appear to people who are alone. She approaches looking pale and soaking wet, as if she had just fallen into the lake. She appears to be in distress and asks for help, but when you agree to help her she disappears. Many think she is the ghost of a girl who drowned in the lake several years ago. However, the most unnerving part of this story is that she is known to show herself in broad daylight.”

“Ooooh!” Shane sounds out in delight, “Now that’s something different. A bit less spooky though, if you ask me.” 

“Are you seriously criticizing the spooky level of the ghost of a little girl?” Ryan said with a tone of playful annoyance. “If anything I think it’s scarier for a ghost to appear during the day, then people like you can’t explain it away as seeing things in the shadows!” 

“Yeah sure,” Shane replied sarcastically. 

“Once the darkness settles on the campers in the area, more haunted occurrences bleed in with the night. Several people have reported hearing strange sounds after nightfall. Sometimes it’s the sound of loud splashing in the lake, others times it’s uncontrollable sobbing heard from the woods. Others report hearing footsteps running straight through the campground.”

“You know, this is a fairly popular campsite. A lot of those sounds could just be kids messing around at night.” Shane explained lightheartedly. 

“That still doesn’t explain the splashing in the lake.” Ryan pointed out.

“Maybe someone just wanted to go for a midnight swim? You don’t know” Shane bounced back.

“Seriously? That lake is probably freezing at night!” Ryan sputtered.

“Must’ve been a tough day after chasing little Timmy down after he played with gasoline.” Shane quipped. 

Ryan let out a wheeze and his eyes crinkled with a laugh. “Timmy no!” 

Shane continued the thought, “Timmy not the gasoline again, what did I tell you!” He said imitating the voice of an exasperated woman. “Damn I need a skinny dip after dealing with that little shit.” 

Ryan hit his hand on his leg as he wheezed with laughter, Shane joining him with a loud amused laugh. 

“Outside of the stories of the drowned little girl, there are reported sightings of a waterborne cryptid that stalks the deep waters of the lake. It is said to be a serpentine water monster similar to that of the well known  _ Loch Ness _ monster of Scotland. One such story is from the Ute Native American tribe, telling of a young couple that had been eaten by a monster that appeared with the shadows of the moon.”

“Ryan!” Shane exclaimed excitedly, “You didn’t say anything about a cryptid, that might make things more interesting!” 

“You’re far too excited about this lake monster.” Ryan said with a playful smile on his face. 

“Please, tell me more about this big water-boy.” Shane prompted.

“That’s actually all there is to it, we couldn’t find any more information on the monster.” Ryan shrugged.

Shane let out an offended gasp, “You tease! You can’t just lure me in with a cryptid and then snatch it right back out of my hands!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that nobody talks about it!” Ryan retorted. “People here just like their ghost stories I guess.” 

“At least cryptids might actually exist,” Shane huffed. “They’re flesh and blood! Unlike your ghosts that just like to blow on you.  _ Spooooky _ .” 

“Yeah yeah alright,” Ryan waved him off. 

Shane winked and stood up from his chair, “Well lets go catch some ghouls shall we?” 

A smile crept onto Ryan’s face as he stood and followed Shane towards the campsite. 

***

Shane, Ryan, and the crew trailed down to a spot near the shore of the lake. Ryan pulled the spirit box out and waited for a moment for everyone to get situated. 

“Alright ghosts this is a bit loud but it should give you the chance to be able to talk to us.” Ryan stated to the air before pressing the button on the box.

Shane winced as the device erupted into its rapid screeching of static and waited for Ryan to begin his questioning. 

“I’m reaching out to the ghost of the little girl that is known to be around this area of the lake.” Ryan said and paused for a moment. “If you’re here can you say something to us? Give us a sign to show you’re with us.” Ryan went silent and let the crackle of the spirit box echo for a little while. There were a couple noises here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be ruled out as radio interference. 

Ryan tried asking a few more questions but got the same results. Seemingly disappointed, he put the spirit box away. 

“No ghouls seem to be home, maybe they’re out for dinner.” Shane teased.

“Shut up Shane,” Ryan laughed. 

Shane glanced across the lake and narrowed his eyes at a figure hidden in the trees on the opposite shore. In a moment’s notice the figure disappeared and Shane felt for his pen in his pocket. Reassured by the feeling of the plastic, he turned back to Ryan with a goofy smile plastered on his face only to see Ryan looking mildly worried. 

“Do you think there’s bears out here?” Ryan questioned out of the blue, a fearful glint in his eye. 

The fake smile dropped off of Shane’s face in concern for his friend, “Well we are in the woods, but I doubt there’s any nearby.” Shane reassured. 

Ryan stared blankly across the lake, “I thought I saw…” He trailed off into a whisper. “Never mind.”

Shane patted Ryan on the shoulder, “We’ll be fine, it’s probably nothing.” Shane said, but even he was starting to doubt that a bit. 

“Let’s head towards the cabins, maybe you’ll find something spooky there.” Shane managed to pull Ryan’s gaze away from the lake shore and he followed Shane in the direction of the cabins.

Shane let Ryan lead the investigation from there and trailed behind him keeping his eyes open for any potential threats. Not that Ryan needed to know that. However, Shane could tell that Ryan knew he was getting uneasy. 

***

The duo wandered back to the two cars they had traveled up to the campsite in, their filming for the night now completed. After an uneventful few hours, Shane’s uneasiness had settled and he was back to his quippy self. Ryan, on the other hand, still looked stressed beyond belief. Shane gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he helped pack equipment into one of the cars. He noticed Ryan still glancing around nervously. 

“We’re going to head back to get us all some food,” Devon called back towards Shane and Ryan. “We’ll meet you guys back at the hotel with dinner.” 

Shane nodded in response, “Alright, see you guys there.” 

The other car began driving off just as Shane and Ryan finished packing the remainder of the equipment. “Ready to head out?” Shane asked as he closed the door to the trunk.

“Yeah lets get out of here,” Ryan replied, opening the passenger door with a glint of fear lingering in his eyes. 

Just as Shane was about to follow Ryan in getting into the car, a loud crash was heard from the trees just beyond the passenger side. Ryan whipped around to face the noise and Shane nearly leaped out of his shoes trying to get to Ryan’s side of the car. 

Two eight foot tall bear-man hybrids lumbered out of the forest. Both of the monsters were wearing nothing but tattered blue jeans and were covered head to toe in shag-carpeted thick brown fur. They had claws for fingernails, feet like paws, snouts for noses, and all of their teeth were pointed canines.

Shane stared dumbfounded at the twin bears for a moment before the bear-man on the right yanked him to reality with a loud bellow, “YOU WILL TASTE OUR REVENGE SON OF HERMES!” 

The bear-man hybrid standing on the left lunged toward Ryan, but before it could reach him Shane had pulled out his sword and slashed at the bear-man’s arm. The monster growled in anger and took a step back, his lower arm dropping to the ground from the wound. 

Shane heard Ryan sputtering behind him in confusion, he fumbled over his words but eventually uttered out, “is that a fucking  _ monster!? _ Why the fuck do you have a  _ sword!?” _

Shane paused and turned around, blinking in surprise, “You can see everything?” he questioned. Normally mortals are unable to fully process monsters and demigods in action. So if Ryan could see it then that means-

“Of course I can see that I’m not fucking  _ blind!” _ Ryan practically yelled in response. 

Before Shane could reply, he watched Ryan’s eyes widen in horror and he turned just in time to see the armless bear slashing down at him with his other paw. Shane managed to roll out of the way just before the large claws struck the empty space where he was once standing. 

“Attacking a guy while he’s talking to his friend isn’t very nice you know,” Shane deadpans as he quickly gets up off of the dirt. “What do you want from me anyway?” He questioned as he readied his sword once again. 

The bear-man that hadn’t yet attacked growled in response, “The dead child of Hermes promised us a world without the gods. Now Kronos is dead and we were banished back to Tartarus!” 

The blood drained from Shane’s face. He knew he recognized these bear-men from somewhere. Agrius and Oreius. The twins were part of the crew on his half-brother Luke’s ship, back when he was still alive. Back when he was still aligned with Kronos. 

“All children of Hermes will PAY for his actions!” The bear roared before launching itself at Shane. 

Shane ducked out of the way and sliced his sword across the bear’s legs as he dove out from the attack. The bear growled in pain but didn’t slow down in its charge. It continued to slash at Shane with its sharp claws. Shane dodged and parried each slash best he could, but he was clearly out of practice from fighting monsters of this stature. 

From behind him, Shane heard Ryan yelp in alarm and he spared a glance backward to see the other twin looming over Ryan, who was lying on the ground utterly defenseless. Not to mention absolutely terrified of bears. Shane cursed and sprung away from his current opponent before running towards Ryan. Shane let out a holler and slashed down with his sword on the backside of the bear that was facing Ryan. The bear roared in defeat before dissolving into dust.

Shane breathed heavily and moved to help Ryan up before Ryan shouted, “Shane look out!” his voice filled with terror for his best friend. Shane whipped his head around in surprise to see the remaining bear swing at him, knocking him off his feet and slamming him into a nearby tree. 

“ _ SHANE!”  _ Ryan screamed. 

Shane coughed trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of him as he struggled to stand back up. The bear roared with triumph and started towards Shane again. Shane scrambled for his sword and blindly slashed at its head just as it was reaching to attack him again. The bear screeched in surprise. Its head fell to the ground separated from its body and collapsed into golden dust. Shane sighed with relief. His sword slipped from his fingers and he collapsed back to the ground. 

Ryan finally unfroze and scrambled over to Shane after the fight had ended, his eyes prickled with tears. “Shane!” he yelled, dropping down on the ground kneeling over Shane. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice full to the brim with worry.

Shane just coughed and gave him a thumbs up, a weak smile plastering itself on his face. “Couldn’t be better!” He wheezed out weakly. 

Shane watched Ryan look him up and down carefully before his eyes hovered over Shane’s torso and widened. “Oh my God Shane, you’re bleeding!”

Shane lifted his head briefly off the ground to look at his stomach, his plaid shirt was torn and beginning to soak through with blood. “So I am.” He concluded before dropping his head back on the hard dirt. 

Ryan started to tremble with a panicked look in his eyes, “We…” He trailed off for a moment, “We need to get a first aid kit. And-and get you to the hospital or something!” 

“Nah I’ll be fine,” Shane replied nonchalantly, his eyes staring up at the dark sky. 

“Shane, that looks like it needs stitches. And you look like you’re about to pass out,” Ryan states firmly, starting to fuss over the open wound. He looked around blankly as if in search for some bandages. 

Shane waved him off and sat himself up. He reached toward his backpack that was lying on the ground nearby. It had somehow remained unharmed throughout the chaos of the battle. He unzipped it and looked inside, pulling out a Ziploc bag that wasn’t in the backpack before. Shane opened the Ziploc bag that held what looked to be a lemon square. Shane mumbled out a quiet “Thanks dad,” before breaking off a square and taking a bite of the ambrosia. The comforting flavor of his mother’s home cooking filled his mouth. 

Ryan just stared at Shane in confusion. Shane looked down at the wound on his stomach and watched as it began to slowly close up, the color returning to his face. Shane sheepishly looked back up to see Ryan scooting away on the ground with fear in his eyes.

“What the  _ FUCK _ Shane! Who- no,  _ what _ are you? Are you even human? Are you part demon?  _ Please _ don’t tell me you’re part demon-” Ryan rambled without so much as pausing to breathe. 

Shane wheezed out a laugh, cutting off Ryan's panicked questions. “Seriously Ryan?” He asked, letting out more laughter. “Demon? That’s the first thing you thought of?”

“What!” Ryan huffed defensively, “I think it’s a valid question after watching whatever the hell that just was. I feel like I’m dreaming. I’m not dreaming am I?” Ryan squinted for a moment before pinching himself. “Fuck! Okay not dreaming.” Ryan stared back at Shane, his eyes going over Shane’s body as if he were trying to pick him apart. “So if you’re not a demon then what the hell are you? Normal people can’t just heal like that.” 

Shane chuckled with amusement. He watched Ryan as he examined Shane for any hints to what could be happening. He let out a soft sigh before sitting himself up completely from the ground. “Well, there’s no use in hiding it now. You can clearly see through the mist,” he shrugged. 

Ryan gawked back at him with a look of confusion plastered on his face. “The what?”

Shane took a deep breath to calm himself, this was actually happening. Ryan was finally going to know his deepest secret. “The mist. It’s basically a magical veil that hides this kind of thing from mortals,” Shane explains calmly. “It’s actually pretty rare that a mortal can see so clearly through the mist without putting in a lot of effort. You’re a special one, Bergara,” Shane winked. 

Ryan blinked at him in shock, “Mortals.” He deadpanned. “You say that as if you’re not one.” 

Shane paused briefly to clear his mind of his worries about Ryan knowing his secret before continuing, “It’s more like half. I’m a half-blood.” 

“Like in Harry Potter?” Ryan asked, his face completely serious.

Shane busted out into laughter, “Wh- no! I’m a half-blood, as in demigod. You know, half human half god.” Shane held his breath for a moment to see how Ryan would react, he was honestly terrified that his best friend would hate him Or worse, be scared of him. 

“Wait wait wait. Like in fucking Greek mythology? Like Hercules?” Ryan sputtered, leaning back in shock. Shane winced as he watched Ryan back away slightly. 

He continued anyway, trying not to look too stressed. “Exactly! Except the Greek name is actually Heracles. And he’s kind of a dick,” Shane said casually. 

“Well damn.” Ryan concluded before a look of realization crept up on his face, the implications of what Shane just said setting in, “Wait wh-”

Shane cuts him off with a simple, “Yup.” He only met Heracles once, and he was not eager to do it again. 

Ryan struggled to form words, he just stared at Shane in complete astonishment. “Okay, you’ve  _ got _ to be joking. You of all people.”

Shane just shrugged in response, “I’m just telling you as it is,” he replied calmly. A smile started creeping back up onto his face.  _ You know, maybe this won’t be too bad. _

Ryan stopped to ponder for a second before continuing. “So if you’re a demigod, who’s your godly parent?” he probed. 

Shane let Ryan take in the weight of the question before answering honestly. “That would be Hermes, like you heard those bear guys say, god of thieves, travel, and most importantly, mischief.” Shane winks as he finishes his sentence. 

Ryan rolled his eyes in response, “Of course. It all makes sense now. That’s why you’re the way you are.”

“It’s all part of the charm babey!” Shane quips. 

Ryan let out a wheeze of laughter, whatever tension that remained between the two had been completely broken. Shane began to laugh along with him. 

Ryan turned back to Shane after a short while with a look of concern creeping back onto his face. Shane raised an eyebrow waiting for Ryan to speak what was on his mind.

“Who were those guys anyway? What did they want with you?” Ryan questioned softly. Shane’s breath hitched as he took in the question. He was afraid Ryan would ask that. 

Ryan allowed Shane a moment to gather his thoughts before he finally spoke. “Well, uh…” Shane trailed off briefly, not quite sure how to explain everything to Ryan.

Ryan’s face softened as he looked at Shane, “Hey you don’t have to tell me if it's too much, big guy.”

Shane shook his head, “No, I want to. I’ve kept this part of me from you long enough.” Shane paused to center himself before beginning his explanation. He didn’t hold back, he told Ryan everything. Every single moment. From his first day at Camp Half-Blood to his injury sustained because of the Battle of Manhattan. 

“They were after me because of what Luke did,” Shane sighed. “He was the hero in the end, but it sure stirred up a lot of trouble. Those two bear guys, they’re called Agrius and Oreius. They were assisting Luke on his ship when he was trying to revive the titan Kronos. Luke failed and some other campers defeated them, but I guess they can really hold a grudge.”

Ryan absorbed the information and let out a shaky breath, “Jesus Shane.” 

Shane just shrugged. “Hey man, it's all part of the job. That’s in the past and everything’s alright now. Well. Aside from them attacking us,” he chuckled. 

Ryan rolled his eyes, a small smile edging its way onto his face. 

Shane stood up from the dirt and dusted himself off before reaching his hand down to Ryan to pull him up. “We should head back to the hotel, the gang’s probably starting to wonder where we are,” Shane pointed out after helping Ryan off the ground.

Ryan’s eyes shot open wide, “Shit, I forgot!” He dragged his hands down his face, “They’re probably worried sick!”

Shane laughed, “I’ll shoot them a text as soon as we get some cell service.” He nodded his head toward the car and the duo settled into the seats for the drive back to the hotel.

Shane let his eyes wander from the dirt road to Ryan in the passenger seat. Born from the lack of conversation, Ryan looked like he was beginning to process the weight of everything Shane had just told him.

“Hold on,” Ryan looked over at Shane suspiciously, “If you’re a demigod and all of this Greek mythology shit is real, then why the fuck don’t you believe in ghosts?” Ryan accused with a pointed look on his face.

A smirk formed on Shane’s lips and he simply shrugged, “Because they don’t exist Ryan. Not up here doing hauntings anyway.” 

Ryan gave Shane an exasperated look before simply turning his eyes back to the road and finishing with, “Fuck you, Shane.” 


End file.
